The key to calorie control when you feel like pasta is to focus on quality over quantity — at most aim for 1 cup cooked pasta or an entree-sized serve, and think less pasta and more vegetables, seafood or lean meat-based sauce to control your overall intake of carbohydrates.
MUFFINS
Sydney University researcher Stephanie Liang recently found that the average serving size of a muffin bought at a cafe was 148g and contained an average of more than 400 calories — two to three times that recommended for a snack. It is the mix of fat, sugar and white flour along with the jumbo serves that mean the muffins we buy with our coffee contain more calories than an entire meal. If you like a baked good, always think small such. Something like biscotti or small protein balls will be much lower calorie choices — or share a muffin with four other people!
SMOOTHIES
If you make a smoothie at home using milk, protein powder and a little fruit, your breakfast drink will contain 200-300 calories. On the other hand if you order a medium or large smoothie from your favourite cafe or juice bar and it contains honey, yoghurt, protein powder, chia, fruit, nuts and milk your smoothie will more likely contain 400-600 calories along with 6-8 teaspoons of sugar.
The key to smoothie success? Make your own or always order a small and stick to three to four ingredients to halve your calories.
SANDWICHES
What could possibly be wrong with a sandwich? A couple of pieces of bread along with some meat, cheese and lettuce? Indeed if you made your own sandwich at home and use small slices of wholemeal bread, a slice or two of meat or cheese and plenty of salad, you would have made yourself a 300-400 calorie lunch.
Unfortunately it is the jumbo sized sourdough and Turkish bread sandwiches laden with fried meat, cheese, chucks of avocado and lashings of dressing that make the average sandwich found at a food court equate to 600-800 calories. Not all sandwiches are equal and if you like an old-fashioned sandwich for lunch, the key is to choose the thinnest, smallest slice of bread on offer; add one source of protein such as lean chicken or cheese or egg and add tons of salad minus any extra mayo, pesto or hummus. Then you will have a sandwich that contains 500 calories or less.
SALADS
Again if you make your own salad and pack it full of leaves, salads vegetables, lean protein such as tuna and a splash of olive oil dressing you will have made yourself a healthy, low calorie salad. On the other hand, if your salad order is a pesto pasta salad; chicken Caesar or even rocket, pumpkin and feta, your premade salad will contain the calorie equivalent of two meals, along with 40-60g of fat thanks to the dressing, cheese, nuts and avo.
In fact, most salads that are premade in chain stores are packed full of calories, which is why they taste so good. The answer — either choose your own salad ingredients, aim for just one source of fat whether this is cheese or dressing or avocado and skip the rice and pasta salad. Or even better, make your own and save plenty of calories and plenty of money.
